Hello Neighbors,
Just a reminder, last year at this time we were caught in the teeth of the polar vortex. This week, we are once again coming out of some cool weather and headed to milder temperatures so I hope you are able to get out and about.
Also remember, this is one of the best times for viewing high school sports. Whether you are supporting Long Prairie, Upsala, Pierz, or any of the other great local teams, I wish your team the best and the athletes success.
This last week was a continuation of my two biggest investments for Minnesota. I am a firm believer that economic growth occurs when resources are put into human capital efforts: early education, high paying wages and job growth, and entrepreneurs.
House File 1 is my jobs and economic growth bill. This bill provides tax investment opportunities for Minnesota companies who are willing to invest in their companies and work towards growth. By providing a 10% tax incentive for pass-through entities, I believe we can encourage start-up companies and small-businesses to reinvest in the community rather than sending the money to St. Paul to be eaten away with administration and government growth.
Dollars invested directly in the community go to our retail shops, schools, charities, and social services. That is not just smart investing; it is the right approach for our communities.
My second human capital investments are centered on protecting and improving our children’s future. I am carrying the Child Protection Task force bill that is designed to make sure children have the safety and security necessary to develop and be ready for school.
The other bill I am carrying is the Early Learning Scholarship bill that focuses scholarships on children who, by the chance of birth, are not given the same opportunity to learn to read and develop skills needed to be successful in kindergarten. More importantly, you will notice my efforts are targeted to those children who have the most need—not universally. We need to make sure that our scholarship efforts are specifically aimed at the children who we identify as “at risk”.
While the Governor’s proposal is a universal approach, it is grossly underfunded and it puts a tremendous burden on the schools to take in all the kids for preschool. Economically, this is just not feasible nor are our schools ready to be a preschool – 12 system. I advocate for schools to work with the K-12 students and we put preschool scholarships in the hands of the parents and children to make the best educational decision available.
Have a great weekend!
Ron